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Public invited to discuss future land-use scenarios for Greater Kansas City at meetings on Feb. 3, 4, 11 and 17

Over the next 30 years, the Kansas City region can expect to add 500,000 people and 300,000 jobs. Predicting where they will be located helps jurisdictions plan for future travel needs. MARC is working with a Technical Forecast Committee on a future land-use forecast to support Transportation Outlook 2040, the new long-range transportation plan for the Kansas City area.

Community meetings will be hosted around the region Feb. 3, 4 and 11 to discuss future land-use scenarios under consideration that show alternate ways of accommodating overall growth.

Feb. 3: 7–8:30 p.m., Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park, Kan.
Feb. 4: 7–8:30 p.m., Gladstone Community Center, 6901 N. Holmes, Gladstone, Mo.
Feb. 11: 7–8:30 p.m., Kansas City Public Library – Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.

The city of Leavenworth is hosting an additional meeting for residents in that community and the surrounding area.
Feb. 17: 6:30–8 p.m., Riverfront Community Center (913-651-2132), 123 S. Esplanade, Leavenworth, Kan.

Learn more about Transportation Outlook 2040 or RSVP to attend a community meeting.

Under a baseline scenario — where past trends continue into the future — nearly all the region’s growth over the next 30 years occurs on previously undeveloped land. But through focused development, we can grow smarter. The adaptive scenario assumes that up to 40 percent of population and job growth between now and 2040 will be concentrated in activity centers and along key corridors in existing areas, older suburbs and urban places. This would lead to major differences in infrastructure costs, amount of land used, roadway congestion and transit ridership levels.

Following a presentation about the scenarios, Frank Lenk, MARC’s director of research services, will lead discussion and polling about how much of the adaptive growth scenario the region can achieve. How will we grow? What policies are needed to get there?

As the metropolitan planning organization for Greater Kansas City, MARC maintains a long-range transportation plan that guides transportation decision making and funding decisions involving federal dollars over a period of several decades. Over the last year, MARC has coordinated with planners, elected officials, community organizations and citizens to establish a vision for the region’s future transportation system. Transportation Outlook 2040 will contain goals and strategies for what we want to achieve and how we plan to do it, as well as major regional transportation investments that will help accomplish regional goals.

For more information, contact Tom Gerend.

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EPA proposes stricter air quality standards

In an effort to better protect public health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed tighter air quality standards for ground-level ozone, a major component of smog. EPA’s proposed revised standards could put hundreds of additional counties across the country into the nonattainment category because air quality monitors will violate the standards. Whether under the existing or the tighter proposed standards, Greater Kansas City is expected to be redesignated as an ozone nonattainment area and will need to add several counties to its air quality boundary.

EPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS ) under the Clean Air Act for six criteria pollutants, including ozone. These standards apply to outdoor air quality and are designed to protect human health, including sensitive populations such as children, the elderly and individuals suffering from respiratory disease. In addition to the primary standards, there are secondary standards designed to protect public welfare from known or anticipated adverse effects of a particular pollutant. EPA is required to review the air quality standards every five years.

On Jan. 6, EPA proposed to set a lower standard for ozone to a level between 0.060 and 0.070 parts per million (ppm) — the standard was set at 0.075 ppm in 2008 — as well as change the way the secondary standard is calculated. Whereas the estimates of counties in violation of the proposed standard are based on the 2006–2008 reported data, EPA will not designate nonattainment areas based on these data, but rather on 2008–2010 data. Due to a variety of factors, the 2008–2010 data are expected to show improved air quality.

EPA plans to select a specific primary standard within the 0.060–0.070 ppm range by August 2010. Counties and states would then have up to 20 years to meet the new standard, depending on how severely they are out of compliance. They will have to submit plans for meeting the new limits by end of 2013.

MARC's Air Quality Forum will work with Kansas and Missouri on new state implementation plans that outline measures to further emissions reductions. MARC continues to implement the region's Clean Air Action Plan, which outlines voluntary measures.

As part of its 2010 federal legislative agenda, MARC will ask Congress to:

1. consider additional resources for states and urban areas to develop new air quality protection plans and programs.
2. develop a national strategy for reducing emissions to help urban areas meet tougher standards.
3. adjust the planning timeline proposed by EPA for states and communities to develop implementation plans.

Learn more about EPA's proposed standards changes

For more information, contact Amanda Graor.

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MARC solicits aging transportation services proposals

MARC is conducting a funding round for aging transportation services in the Missouri counties of Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray for state fiscal year 2011 (July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011). The deadline to submit sealed proposals to the MARC office is noon on March 1.

MARC's Department of Aging Services serves as the Area Agency on Aging for Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri. MARC's aging transportation program contracts each fiscal year with providers that offer transportation services for the aging and persons with disabilities over age 18 in several categories: site transportation for people and meals, special reserved and lift/ramp transportation, and coordinated nonurban transportation.

Representatives of each agency submitting an accepted proposal will be invited to a public meeting on March 10 at 9 a.m. at the MARC offices to make an oral presentation on its proposal and respond to questions and comments. A committee made up of Comission on Aging and Special Transportation–Job Access Partnership members will review presentations and may award points or make other recommendations. The scores will be submitted to the Commission on Aging, which will review committee information, and forward its recommendations to the MARC Board of Directors in April.

SFY 2011 Aging Transportation Services RFP (pdf)

For more information, contact Tonya Boston at 816-701-8290.

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Another round of federal stimulus funding possible

Discussions are underway in Congress on potential jobs legislation that may include another short-term program of stimulus funds for transportation projects. The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed a version of this legislation (H.R. 2847) that would, among other provisions, provide $27.5 billion nationwide for highway infrastructure investment projects. The provisions of this bill are very similar to the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). But the deadlines to draw down these funds would be even tighter than in ARRA, with a requirement that 50 percent be awarded to contracts within 90 days of the bill’s enactment.

The U.S. Senate has not yet passed a bill addressing this issue, but may be considering legislation that differs from the House version. MARC is closely monitoring these developments and may issue a call for projects as the potential legislation becomes more clear. Staff members are reviewing projects in the current Transportation Improvement Program to assess opportunities for projects to meet these short time frames.

MARC recommends that area jurisdictions monitor the issue and begin to identify transportation projects that may be potential candidates for additional short-term federal funding — particularly projects that would be eligible under current Federal Highway Administration or Federal Transit Administration rules for ARRA, and that could be advanced through the federal aid review process to contract award by April of 2010 or sooner.

For more information, contact Ron Achelpohl.

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Roadway fatalities drop significantly in 2009

MARC staff tracks roadway fatalities in the Kansas City region and gathers historical safety data for planning purposes. As of December 31, fatalities for 2009 in the region were down 16.2 percent compared to the five-year average. A total of 192 lives were lost on area roadways last year — 36 fewer than 2008.

Among the region’s priority safety areas:

• 39 percent of 2009 roadway fatalities involved unbelted drivers,
• 23 percent involved youth under age 25, and
• 21 percent involved impaired driving.

The Regional Safety Blueprint, updated in 2009, set a benchmark of reducing fatalities to 183 or fewer by 2012 — on the way to reducing fatalities in half by 2030.

Statewide roadway deaths have also decreased in Kansas and Missouri. For 2009, Kansas fatalities dropped 12.5 percent to 335, and Missouri highway fatalities are at a 60-year low, down 10.9 percent to 872.

The combined efforts of local, regional, state and federal highway safety advocates in law enforcement, education, emergency medical services and engineering enhancements are credited with helping to save lives. Each year the region’s Destination Safe Coalition funds strategies that reduce fatalities and serious injuries by targeting those areas.

Final fatality numbers for 2009 likely will alter as additional reports come in for Kansas and Missouri.

Kansas City Region Fatality Report 12/31/09 (pdf)

For more information, contact Aaron Bartlett.

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MetroGreen^® nationally recognized by The Conservation Fund

The Conservation Fund recently lauded MetroGreen's efforts in its Green Infrastructure Case Studies series, which highlights projects nationwide that have implemented conservation and sustainable practices.

MetroGreen is an interconnected system of public and private natural areas, greenways and trails linking communities throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. The 1,144-mile greenway plan covers Leavenworth, Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri. Over 200 miles of the planned system have been constructed.

The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing America's land and water legacy, defined eight sustainable principles for the case studies including history, overview, public education/outreach, process, stewardship, financing, green infrastructure application and evaluation. The organization will use the case studies to promote existing projects and inspire other communities to adopt similar projects.

Now that MetroGreen has been nationally recognized, the hope is that our region’s greenway system will continue to inspire local partners and other communities to maintain their commitment to sustainability.

For more information, contact Jennifer Blattman.

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Transportation Outlook 2030 Update and Transportation Improvement Program amendments approved

TRANSPORTATION OUTLOOK 2030 UPDATE

The MARC Board of Directors has approved an amendment to Transportation Outlook 2030 Update that would add a new interchange at Route 150/Botts Rd. in Kansas City, Mo., to serve growing freight traffic.

The Route 150/Botts Rd. interchange project, which runs 1.5 miles from west of Botts Rd. on east to U.S. 71, has an estimated cost of $28.9 million and will be funded using MoDOT’s statewide cost-share program in partnership with Kansas City, Mo., ($24.5 million – state; $4.4 million – city). The new interchange will serve growing intermodal and freight traffic generated from the Richards Gebaur Intermodal Complex and adjoining developments.

Transportation Outlook 2030 Update currently serves as the blueprint for the management of the region’s transportation system through the year 2030. This long-range plan categorizes $16.6 billion in investments ranging from road and transit improvements to projects that enhance bike, pedestrian and freight movement.

Route 150/Botts Rd. interchange amendment

For more information, contact Tom Gerend.

TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM 2010–2014

The MARC Board of Directors has approved the 2010 first quarter amendment to the 2010–2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which adds seven new projects and modifies six existing projects in the region. New projects include a feasibility study for improvements to I-35 from the state line to Interstate 670 (#690347), and construction of a new interchange at Route 150 and Botts Rd. (#690349).

The TIP documents how the Greater Kansas City area will prioritize the limited transportation resources available to meet the needs of the region. The TIP contains major surface transportation projects planned to receive federal, state and local funding within the metro area that will be carried out in the next five years.

2010 1st quarter TIP amendment (pdf)

For more information, contact Marc Hansen.

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